Comparison of the accumulation kinetics of L-(methyl-11C)-methionine and D-(methyl-11C)-methionine in brain tumors studied with positron emission tomography

Acta Radiol. 1987 May-Jun;28(3):225-9.

Abstract

Five patients with glioma were examined with positron emission tomography after the administration of 11C-L-methionine and at a following day with 11C-D-methionine. The rates of accumulation of the tracers were determined in the tumor and in the normal brain tissue according to a graphical technique of Patlak et coll. The accumulation rates for L-methionine were on the average 2.4 times higher than those of D-methionine in the tumors. The corresponding ration for normal brain tissue was 2.3. It is concluded that in this group of tumors without obvious blood-tumor-barrier breakdown, a stereospecific process with similar properties as in the normal brain tissue, is responsible for the accumulation of the labelled methionine.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Astrocytoma / blood
  • Astrocytoma / diagnostic imaging
  • Astrocytoma / metabolism*
  • Blood-Brain Barrier
  • Brain Neoplasms / blood
  • Brain Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Brain Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Carbon Radioisotopes
  • Humans
  • Kinetics
  • Methionine / analogs & derivatives*
  • Methionine / blood
  • Methionine / metabolism
  • Oligodendroglioma / blood
  • Oligodendroglioma / diagnostic imaging
  • Oligodendroglioma / metabolism
  • Tomography, Emission-Computed*

Substances

  • Carbon Radioisotopes
  • Methionine
  • methionine methyl ester